WASHINGTON – The United States Mint (Mint) is pleased to announce the selection of its 2021 American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin™ as Best Gold Coin in Krause Publication’s Coin of the Year (COTY) competition. The annual award program recognizes coins worldwide for their excellence in coin design and craftsmanship.
Launched in 2015, the American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin and Silver Medal series features designs with modern interpretations of the representation of American Liberty. The obverse (heads) of the 2021 gold coin and corresponding silver medal (released in 2022) portrays Liberty as a wild American Mustang horse, bucking off a western-style saddle, evoking the throwing off of the yoke of British rule during the American Revolution. The horse is centered on a rising sun. Inscriptions include “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “2021.” The dynamic obverse design was created by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) Designer Beth Zaiken and sculpted by United States Mint Medallic Artist Craig A. Campbell.
The reverse (tails) depicts a close-up view of an eagle with the inscriptions “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” “1 OZ.,” “.9999 FINE GOLD,” “$100,” and “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” AIP Designer Richard Masters created the design, which Medallic Artist Phebe Hemphill sculpted.
Don’t miss the opportunity to add this award-winning design to your collection. The 2021 American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin is currently unavailable, but inventory of the corresponding 2022 American Liberty Silver Medal is still available. Place your order today via the Mint’s online catalog at https://catalog.usmint.gov/american-liberty-2022-silver-medal-22DB.html/ (product code 22DB).
In 2023, the obverse of the American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin and Silver Medal will feature a bristlecone pine, a species native to California, Nevada, and Utah, thought to be the oldest living organisms on Earth, living up to 5,000 years. Bristlecone pines grow in places where other plants cannot, and are often the species that is first to repopulate the land after cataclysmic changes such as a lava run or glacial runoff. The silver medal has the additional inscription “WE SHALL PERSEVERE.” United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program Designer Elana Hagler created the new obverse design, which Chief Engraver Joseph Menna sculpted.
The reverse of the 2023 gold coin and silver medal will depict a young bald eagle standing on a rocky outcropping moments before it takes flight. Mint Medallic Artist John P. McGraw created and sculpted the design.
Images of the 2023 American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin are available at https://www.usmint.gov/news/image-library/gold-coins and images of the 2023 American Liberty Silver Medal are available at https://www.usmint.gov/news/image-library/silver-bronze-medals. The Mint anticipates the release of both products in the summer of 2023.
Additional products in the American Liberty series are available at: https://catalog.usmint.gov/coin-programs/american-liberty/.